The present invention relates to computer-based systems that provide navigation features and more particularly the present invention relates to providing navigation features that take into account the related requirements of two or more end users.
Navigation systems are available that provide end users (such as drivers and passengers of the vehicles in which the in-vehicle navigation systems are installed) with various navigation-related functions and features. For example, some navigation systems are able to determine an optimum route to travel by roads between locations in a geographic region. Using input from the end user, and optionally from equipment that can determine one""s physical location (such as a GPS system), a navigation system can examine various routes between two locations to determine an optimum route to travel from a starting location to a destination location in a geographic region. The navigation system may then provide the end user with information about the optimum route in the form of guidance that identifies the driving maneuvers required to be taken by the end user to travel from the starting location to the destination location. The guidance may take the form of visual and/or audio instructions that are provided along the way as the end user is traveling the route. Some navigation systems are able to show detailed maps on computer displays outlining routes to destinations, the types of maneuvers to be taken at various locations along the routes, locations of certain types of features, and so on.
In order to provide these and other navigating functions, navigation systems use geographic data. The geographic data may be in the form of one or more databases that include data that represent physical features in a geographic region. The geographic database may include data representing the roads and intersections in a geographic region and also may include information relating to the represented roads and intersections in the geographic region, such as turn restrictions at intersections, speed limits along the roads, street names of the various roads, address ranges along the roads, and so on.
Although navigation systems provide many important features, there continues to be room for new features or other improvements. One area in which there is room for improvement relates to providing navigation services for the related needs of different end users. As an example, if two persons located some distance apart want to make plans to meet for lunch, it would be desirable to use a navigation system (or navigation service) to help these persons select a restaurant that can be reached in approximately the same amount of driving time by each person, taking into account the speed limits on the roads between them and possibly the traffic conditions on the roads between them. Further, it may be desirable to use a navigation system (or navigation service) to provide several different choices of restaurants, all of which are approximately the same driving time for each person. Still further, it may be desirable to use a navigation system (or navigation service) to allow for different departure times, if necessary. Further yet, it may be desirable to use a navigation system (or navigation service) to provide each party with routing guidance to reach the chosen common destination.
These considerations are not limited to finding restaurants, but can be applied to any kind of place, such as shops, golf courses, tennis courts, playgrounds, movie theaters, and so on.
To address these and other objectives, the present invention comprises a feature provided by a navigation system or a navigation services provider whereby navigation-related services are provided for plural users who have related needs. In one embodiment, a first user specifies a type of place at which to meet a second user who is at a location some distance away from the first user. The navigation feature identifies one or more places of the specified type that are convenient for both users to travel to. The navigation feature may also provide the users with instructions for traveling to a selected place.